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JAMES FENIMORE-COOPER 39

with a cloth, for a play with my doll. Father and Mother
came in together. I went on playing quietly with my doll.
The reading of a chapter of Precaution began. This inter-
ested me greatly; it was Chapter —. Suddenly I burst

into tears, and sobbed aloud over the woes of ---------.

Father and Mother were amazed; I was withdrawn from
my tent, but they could not imagine what had distressed
me. On one of his visits to New York, in those days, my
Father bought a large green port-folio for himself, and a
red one for my Mother. The red one is now among my
papers, in a dilapidated condition.

When Precaution was completed we set out for a visit
to Bedford, for the especial purpose of reading the MS.
to the Jay family. My Mother wished the book to be
printed, my Father had some doubts on the subject, and
at last it was decided that if his friends the Jays listened
with interest to the reading, the printing should take
place; Mrs. Banyer's taste and judgment were considered
of especial importance in deciding a literary question. We
made the little journey in the gig; Father, Mother, Susie,
and Precaution. For my part, I greatly enjoyed the visit,
playing with Anna and Maria Jay. The reading went
on in the parlor, while we little people were in the
nursery. Governor Jay, venerable in appearance as in
character, was one of the audience. With his grandchil-
dren I used to go up and kiss him for good-night, every
evening. The audience approved, although only one or
two of them knew the secret of the authorship; the MS.
was supposed to be written by a friend of my Father.
There was a Miss McDonald, a friend of the Jays stay-
ing with them at the time; she declared the book quite
interesting, but it was not new; "I am sure I have read
it before," she declared—this the author considered as a



	JAMES FENIMORE-COOPER 39 with a cloth, for a play with my doll. Father and Mother came in together. I went on playing quietly with my doll. The reading of a chapter of Precaution began. This inter- ested me greatly; it was Chapter —. Suddenly I burst into tears, and sobbed aloud over the woes of ---------. Father and Mother were amazed; I was withdrawn from my tent, but they could not imagine what had distressed me. On one of his visits to New York, in those days, my Father bought a large green port-folio for himself, and a red one for my Mother. The red one is now among my papers, in a dilapidated condition. When Precaution was completed we set out for a visit to Bedford, for the especial purpose of reading the MS. to the Jay family. My Mother wished the book to be printed, my Father had some doubts on the subject, and at last it was decided that if his friends the Jays listened with interest to the reading, the printing should take place; Mrs. Banyer's taste and judgment were considered of especial importance in deciding a literary question. We made the little journey in the gig; Father, Mother, Susie, and Precaution. For my part, I greatly enjoyed the visit, playing with Anna and Maria Jay. The reading went on in the parlor, while we little people were in the nursery. Governor Jay, venerable in appearance as in character, was one of the audience. With his grandchil- dren I used to go up and kiss him for good-night, every evening. The audience approved, although only one or two of them knew the secret of the authorship; the MS. was supposed to be written by a friend of my Father. There was a Miss McDonald, a friend of the Jays stay- ing with them at the time; she declared the book quite interesting, but it was not new; "I am sure I have read it before," she declared—this the author considered as a